Development Archives | Page 280 of 548 | Digital Watch Observatory

Musk denies fundraising as xAI eyes supercluster growth

According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is reportedly working with Valor Equity Partners to raise to US$12 billion for expansion.

Valor, an investment firm founded by Antonio Gracias, a long-time associate of Musk, is in discussions with lenders to secure the capital.

Funds would be used to acquire a substantial number of Nvidia AI chips, which would then be leased to xAI to support a new large-scale data centre for training and running the Grok chatbot.

Neither Valor nor xAI provided comments in response to media enquiries. Some financial institutions involved in the talks have reportedly pushed for repayment within three years and are seeking to limit borrowing amounts to reduce risk exposure.

Developing and deploying advanced AI systems requires a vast investment in hardware, computational resources and specialist talent. Companies like OpenAI, Google and China-based DeepSeek compete intensely in this domain.

In a post on X, Musk confirmed that Grok is being trained using a supercluster with 230,000 GPUs, including 30,000 of Nvidia’s GB200 chips. Another supercluster will launch soon, beginning with 550,000 GB200 and GB300 chips.

Reports suggest xAI may spend around US$13 billion in 2025. Earlier in July, Financial Times reported that xAI was discussing raising funds in a deal potentially valuing the firm between US$170 billion and US$200 billion.

In response to those claims, Musk denied that fundraising was ongoing, stating: ‘We have plenty of capital.’

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Teen builds Hindi AI tool to help paralysis patients speak

An Indian teenager has created a low-cost AI device that translates slurred speech into clear Hindi, helping patients with paralysis and neurological conditions communicate more easily.

Pranet Khetan’s innovation, Paraspeak, uses a custom Hindi speech recognition model to address a long-ignored area of assistive tech.

The device was inspired by Khetan’s visit to a paralysis care centre, where he saw patients struggling to express themselves. Unlike existing English models, Paraspeak is trained on the first Hindi dysarthic speech dataset in India, created by Khetan himself through recordings and data augmentation.

Using transformer architecture, Paraspeak converts unclear speech into understandable output using cloud processing and a neck-worn compact device. It is designed to be scalable across different speakers, unlike current solutions that only work for individual patients.

The AI device is affordable, costing around ₹2,000 to build, and is already undergoing real-world testing. With no existing market-ready alternative for Hindi speakers, Paraspeak represents a significant step forward in inclusive health technology.

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EE expands 5G standalone network to reach over half the UK population

EE’s 5G standalone network is set to reach more than 34 million people across the UK by the end of August. The expansion will cover over half of the country’s population, including major cities, holiday destinations and key sporting and entertainment venues.

The telecom provider has already launched the upgraded network in many towns and cities, with a further 38 locations joining by the end of next month. These include places such as Aberdeen, Canterbury, Grimsby, Ipswich, Salisbury, Wrexham and Yeovil, among others.

5G standalone networks offer faster, more secure and low-latency mobile experiences without relying on older 4G infrastructure.

According to BT Group’s chief networks officer, the rollout is designed to improve performance whether someone is on a packed train platform, livestreaming at a concert, or calling loved ones from a holiday destination.

EE’s move is part of a broader strategy to improve everyday connectivity across the UK, aiming to deliver a more seamless experience for millions rather than limiting high-speed coverage to major urban centres alone.

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Autonomous vehicles fuel surge in 5G adoption

The global 5G automotive market is expected to grow sharply from $2.58 billion in 2024 to $31.18 billion by 2034, fuelled by the rapid adoption of connected and self-driving vehicles.

A compound annual growth rate of over 28% reflects the strong momentum behind the transition to smarter mobility and safer road networks.

Vehicle-to-everything communication is predicted to lead adoption, as it allows vehicles to exchange real-time data with other cars, infrastructure and even pedestrians.

In-car entertainment systems are also growing fast, with consumers demanding smoother connectivity and on-the-go access to apps and media.

Autonom ous driving, advanced driver-assistance features and real-time navigation all benefit from 5G’s low latency and high-speed capabilities. Automakers such as BMW have already begun integrating 5G into electric models to support automated functions.

Meanwhile, the US government has pledged $1.5 billion to build smart transport networks that rely on 5G-powered communication.

North America remains ahead due to early 5G rollouts and strong manufacturing bases, but Asia Pacific is catching up fast through smart city investment and infrastructure development.

Regulatory barriers and patchy rural coverage continue to pose challenges, particularly in regions with strict data privacy laws or limited 5G networks.

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North Korea turns to Russia for AI development help

North Korea is dispatching AI researchers, interns and students to countries such as Russia in an effort to strengthen its domestic tech sector, according to a report by NK News.

The move comes despite strict UN sanctions that restrict technological exchange, particularly in high-priority areas like AI.

Kim Kwang Hyok, head of the AI Institute at Kim Il Sung University, confirmed the strategy in an interview with a pro-Pyongyang outlet in Japan. He admitted that international restrictions remain a major hurdle but noted that researchers continue developing AI applications within North Korea regardless.

Among the projects cited is ‘Ryongma’, a multilingual translation app supporting English, Russian, and Chinese, which has been available on mobile devices since 2021.

Kim also mentioned efforts to develop an AI-driven platform for a hospital under construction in Pyongyang. However, technical limitations remain considerable, with just three known semiconductor plants operating in the country.

While Russia may seem like a natural partner, its own dependence on imported hardware limits how much it can help.

A former South Korean diplomat told NK News that Moscow lacks the domestic capacity to provide high-performance chips essential for advanced AI work, making large-scale collaboration difficult.

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Spotify under fire for AI-generated songs on memorial artist pages

Spotify is facing criticism after AI-generated songs were uploaded to the pages of deceased artists without consent from estates or rights holders.

The latest case involves country singer-songwriter Blaze Foley, who died in 1989. A track titled ‘Together’ was posted to his official Spotify page over the weekend. The song sounded vaguely like a slow country ballad and was paired with AI-generated cover art showing a man who bore no resemblance to Foley.

Craig McDonald, whose label manages Foley’s catalogue, confirmed the track had nothing to do with the artist and described it as inauthentic and harmful. ‘I can clearly tell you that this song is not Blaze, not anywhere near Blaze’s style, at all,’ McDonald told 404 Media. ‘It has the authenticity of an algorithm.’

He criticised Spotify for failing to prevent such uploads and said the company had a duty to stop AI-generated music from appearing under real artists’ names.

‘It’s kind of surprising that Spotify doesn’t have a security fix for this type of action,’ he said. ‘They could fix this problem if they had the will to do so.’ Spotify said it had flagged the track to distributor SoundOn and removed it for violating its deceptive content policy.

However, other similar uploads have already emerged. The same company, Syntax Error, was linked to another AI-generated song titled ‘Happened To You’, uploaded last week under the name of Grammy-winning artist Guy Clark, who died in 2016.

Both tracks have since been removed, but Spotify has not explained how Syntax Error was able to post them using the names and likenesses of late musicians. The controversy is the latest in a wave of AI music incidents slipping through streaming platforms’ content checks.

Earlier this year, an AI-generated band called The Velvet Sundown amassed over a million Spotify streams before disclosing that all their vocals and instrumentals were made by AI.

Another high-profile case involved a fake Drake and The Weeknd collaboration, ‘Heart on My Sleeve’, which gained viral traction before being taken down by Universal Music Group.

Rights groups and artists have repeatedly warned about AI-generated content misrepresenting performers and undermining creative authenticity. As AI tools become more accessible, streaming platforms face mounting pressure to improve detection and approval processes to prevent further misuse.

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Alibaba’s Qwen3 upgrade beats OpenAI and DeepSeek on benchmarks

Alibaba has unveiled a significant update to its flagship open‑source Qwen3 family, spotlighting the Qwen3‑235B‑A22B‑Instruct‑2507‑FP8 model.

However, this revision delivers enhanced capabilities across multiple domains, such as instruction understanding, logical reasoning, text analysis, mathematics, science, coding, and tool integration, and pushes Qwen3 to the top of several key benchmarks.

The upgraded model scored 70.3 on the American Invitational Mathematics Exam in competitive metrics, well ahead of DeepSeek‑V3 (46.6) and OpenAI’s GPT‑4o (26.7).

In MultiPL‑E, which evaluates coding, it achieved 87.9, beating DeepSeek (82.2) and OpenAI (82.7), though Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 edged ahead with 88.5.

A notable technical advancement is the eightfold increase in context capacity to 256k tokens, allowing it to process longer documents in non‑thinking mode.

The open‑source release on reputable platforms like HuggingFace and ModelScope reinforces Alibaba’s commitment to building a transparent, high‑performance AI ecosystem.

This update intensifies competition in China’s AI landscape, with Alibaba closing the benchmark gap versus Western leaders and rival Chinese startups such as DeepSeek, whose upgraded R1‑0528 has reportedly matched Qwen3 in some reasoning tasks.

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New AI strategy aims to attract global capital to Indonesia

Indonesia is moving to cement its position in the global AI and semiconductor landscape by releasing its first comprehensive national AI strategy in August 2025.

Deputy Minister Nezar Patria says the roadmap aims to clarify the country’s AI market potential, particularly in sectors like health and agriculture, and provide guidance on infrastructure, regulation, and investment pathways.

Already, global tech firms are demonstrating confidence in the country’s potential. Microsoft has pledged $1.7 billion to expand cloud and AI capabilities, while Nvidia partnered on a $200 million AI centre project. These investments align with Jakarta’s efforts to build skill pipelines and computational capacity.

In parallel, Indonesia is pitching into critical minerals extraction to strengthen its semiconductor and AI hardware supply chains, and has invited foreign partners, including from the United States, to invest. These initiatives aim to align resource security with its AI ambitions.

However, analysts caution that Indonesia must still address significant gaps: limited AI-ready infrastructure, a shortfall in skilled tech talent, and governance concerns such as data privacy and IP protection.

The new AI roadmap will bridge these deficits and streamline regulation without stifling innovation.

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New AI pact between Sri Lanka and Singapore fosters innovation

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore, through the National University of Singapore’s AI Singapore program and Sri Lanka’s Digital Economy Ministry, to foster cooperation in AI.

The MoU establishes a framework for joint research, curriculum development, and knowledge-sharing initiatives to address local priorities and global tech challenges.

This collaboration signals a strategic leap in Sri Lanka’s digital transformation journey. It emerged during Asia Tech x Singapore 2025, where officials outlined plans for AI training, policy alignment, digital infrastructure support, and e‑governance development.

The partnership builds on Sri Lanka’s broader agenda, including fintech innovation and cybersecurity, to strengthen its national AI ecosystem.

With the formalisation of this MoU, Sri Lanka hopes to elevate its regional and global AI standing. The initiative aims to empower local researchers, cultivate tech talent, and ensure that AI governance and innovation are aligned with ethical and economic goals.

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UK and OpenAI deepen AI collaboration on security and public services

OpenAI has signed a strategic partnership with the UK government aimed at strengthening AI security research and exploring national infrastructure investment.

The agreement was finalised on 21 July by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and science secretary Peter Kyle. It includes a commitment to expand OpenAI’s London office. Research and engineering teams will grow to support AI development and provide assistance to UK businesses and start-ups.

Under the collaboration, OpenAI will share technical insights with the UK’s AI Security Institute to help government bodies better understand risks and capabilities. Planned deployments of AI will focus on public sectors such as justice, defence, education, and national security.

According to the UK government, all applications will follow national standards and guidelines to improve taxpayer-funded services. Peter Kyle described AI as a critical tool for national transformation. ‘AI will be fundamental in driving the change we need to see across the country,’ he said.

He emphasised its potential to support the NHS, reduce barriers to opportunity, and power economic growth. The deal signals a deeper integration of OpenAI’s operations in the UK, with promises of high-skilled jobs, investment in infrastructure, and stronger domestic oversight of AI development.

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